# Dry Counties? Wait, what century is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 23, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779 "2005-04-23T18:03:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/21 "2005-04-23T23:00:31Z")
What county are we talking about? You could be surrounded by wet counties so it won’t matter. And if the county is moist, that means that (usually) the largest town in the county is wet and the outlying areas are dry. I spent about 18 months in a county that was dry (then) and it wasn’t much of an inconvenience. Although I’m more of a home drinker. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/22 "2005-04-23T23:14:09Z")
Jack Daniels whiskey is distilled in Lynchburg, Tennessee which is located in a dry county. > [@](#): > > **tdn** : While I realize that rural Tennessee is about as culturally far away from Martha’s Vineyard as you’re likely to get… I’m really sorry to hear that. I had no idea that the New England coastal area had fallen on hard times. Did you by any chance see Charlie Rose last night? Looks like one of our rural West Tennesse girls may be up for her third Tony nomination. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/23 "2005-04-23T23:14:58Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > For one thing, it slows development way down. Resorts don’t stand a chance of prospering without booze. Wouldn’t that goal also be solved by laws that allowed liquor stores only? Then the residents wouldn’t be put out. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/24 "2005-04-23T23:46:55Z")
Also, assuming that your “Location” listing is accurate, counties are much smaller in Kentucky. Kentucky has 120 counties, second only to Texas. Based on quick and dirty look at the almanac they average around 200 square miles. They were set up so that nobody was more than 10 miles or so from the county seat. Idaho’s counties seem to run around 1500 square miles. So, if you’re in a moist county it’s not like you’re going to be more than 10 minutes or so from the wet town. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/25 "2005-04-24T00:38:43Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > In the dry counties, if you dare to bring liquor into a restaurant, they will have the audacity to charge you a small uncorking fee as they bring you your wine glasses. It’s not really an issue of dry counties per se; charging a [corkage fee](http://foodandwine.netscape.com/articles/invoke.cfm?label=corkage%2Dfor%2Ddummies) is a pretty standard practice. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/26 "2005-04-24T00:46:08Z")
Even large cities in the South often have at least some screwy vestige of the old laws. In Memphis, beer can be sold pretty much anywhere–convenience stores, etc.–but wine and liquor are sold only in specially designated “liquor stores,” and those stores can sell ONLY wine and liquor. Nothing else; no beer, no mixers, no food, cups, ice, nothing. And they have to close on Sunday. When I moved here (ten years ago) from Athens, Georgia, I was glad to be in a place where you could at least get BEER on Sundays. Also, Memphis apparently has a different and more expensive license required for bars to serve liquor, while a beer license is easier or cheaper or some such. I know of several bars offhand that sell only beer, though they’ll let you bring your own harder stuff as long as you buy a “set-up” of a glass and some ice, which is usually a dollar or two. I know of a couple other weird local exceptions as well, but this post has gone on long enough. Curious folk, them Baptists. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/27 "2005-04-24T00:52:30Z")
Hey - just dropping by from the Berea thread… To the south and east of Madison County is dry for the most part. To the west is, too - Garrard is completely dry, and the next one west of there, Boyle, just passed liquor by the drink (only in restaurants) about two years ago. North of Madison is Fayette (Lexington) which is large and wet. Short answer - if a state which specializes in bourbon, gambling, and tobacco, yet has lots of dry counties and is overrun by fundamentalists , seems somewhat schizophrenic, you now understand Kentucky. Me, I’m going to [Keeneland](http://www.keeneland.com) tomorrow to gamble on horses and eat burgoo. I love heading to the track on a Sunday morning - it’s my own special “Fuck You” to the fundamentalist churches I pass on the way. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/28 "2005-04-24T01:11:12Z")
[Here’s a wet-dry map of Kentucky.](http://www.hultgren.org/library/misc/wet-dry.htm) (It’s from '97–I don’t know how much has changed. Probably not much.) Berea is in Madison County. I grew up in Lee County, just a couple to the right. Note that Christian County is wet. Note also that, contrary to the old joke, Bourbon County is also wet. (I think this happened in the last ten years, though.) I never realized that there was such an impressive swatch of dry counties around Lake Cumberland (the southern central part of the state). Most of the southern border counties can probably go into Tennessee. Folks in Laurel and Pulaski counties (London and Somerset, respectively) are basically screwed; they can’t be less than an hour from legal booze. ---
**Author:** ![todd33rpm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@todd33rpm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd33rpm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/29 "2005-04-24T01:11:40Z")
> [@capybara](#): > > MMmmmmmaybe. > The thing is, we’re accustomed to “going out” to a pub, as in walking two blocks to it on a nice day, not driving 30 miles to a strip club or something and careening home. Or, you know, buying a damn six-pack and watching a DVD, so the driving drunk in a wet county doesn’t really apply. I’m just lamenting the lack of ability to walk downtown to the pleasant nice brewpub with the Clash on the jukebox and the dartboards and chess set and Gardenburger. A life with no local pub is no life at all! Oh, by the way, if you’re moving to a dry county out thisaway anyway…I’ve got some bad news about the chances of finding a Gardenburger. Or the Clash. Oh, but a lot of people still have lawn darts, so it all evens out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/30 "2005-04-24T01:12:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Me, I’m going to Keeneland tomorrow to gamble on horses and eat burgoo. I love heading to the track on a Sunday morning - it’s my own special “Fuck You” to the fundamentalist churches I pass on the way. Sigh…at least it’s the last Spring Meet that I’ll be out of the state for. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/31 "2005-04-24T01:17:43Z")
> [@BoBettie](#): > > We must have good zoning laws here- my county (Lincoln county, NC) just stopped being dry maybe 3 years ago or so, and I’ve never seen that at all. All of our liquor stores are ABC stores run by the state, and most wine and beer is just sold in the grocery or convenience stores. See, and that state-owned crap is why I can’t go out and buy a bottle of tequila now, at 9pm on a Saturday. Friggin’ ABC stores are closed. That was incredibly hard to get used to when we moved down here, because back in Kentucky when I got a booze craving at midnight, I could trot across the street and get whatever I wanted. (For some reason, I only ever get the urge to drink late in the evening, usually right after the stupid ABC stores close.) It still seems incredibly stupid to me, not being able to buy booze on a Saturday night, although people who grew up here don’t seem to think twice about it. It’s just what seems normal to them, because it’s what they’re used to. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/32 "2005-04-24T01:19:32Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > Sigh…at least it’s the last Spring Meet that I’ll be out of the state for. Come back soon - we need more Dopers here. If it makes you feel any better, it may snow tonight. But it’s like the old fishing adage - a bad day at Keeneland is better than a good day at (fill in the blank here). ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/33 "2005-04-24T01:29:56Z")
Just looked up a new map; it seems that the city of Corbin (between Knox and Whitley Counties) has now gone wet, making it a bit easier on that area. Still hard to get a drink in Kentucky within an hour of Lake Cumberland, though. > [@](#): > > Oh, by the way, if you’re moving to a dry county out thisaway anyway…I’ve got some bad news about the chances of finding a Gardenburger. I don’t know; the Uber Wal-Mart has done a lot for bringing better groceries to the buttcrack of nowhere. (I’m willing to give credit where it’s due.) Finding one on a menu, though? No. (Maybe in Berea–they do have hippies to feed up there.) > [@](#): > > Come back soon - we need more Dopers here. If it makes you feel any better, it may snow tonight. But it’s like the old fishing adage - a bad day at Keeneland is better than a good day at (fill in the blank here). No kidding. Give me a state with fucked-up liquor laws and eight weeks a year of Keeneland anyday. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/34 "2005-04-24T01:44:00Z")
Hell, I had to move south to get away from the screwy liquor laws of Pennsylvania. Anyone who’s ever lived there knows what I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/35 "2005-04-24T01:57:39Z")
It’s a twenty-minute drive to the liquor store from here. Because of this, when we run out of booze, we made a gigantic run and buy the gallons of liquor, so we don’t have to go as often. We end up looking like gigantic alcoholics and the cashier assumes we’re throwing a giant party. Incidentally by doing this we are technically breaking the law. " Possession of more than one quart of liquor or more than the equivalent of 24 12-oz containers of beer is prima facia evidence of possession with intent to sell in a dry area." [cite](http://www.texassafetynetwork.org/issues/wet_dry/faq/index.php) To whoever said that living in a dry county keeps the cost of living down: not in Texas, where dry is apparently the rule rather than the exception. Around here, the only thing living in a dry county will guarantee you is an inability to go out and get a drink. ---
**Author:** ![Cherry2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cherry2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry2000)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/36 "2005-04-24T02:01:26Z")
I gotta say that I am still completely shocked whenever I run into a dry county when traveling… I hit a suburb of Dallas at almost midnight one time, and let’s just say I was in dire need of a beer or two. Went to buy a six, and was told they couldn’t sell it where I was, but if I went up the street about two blocks I was A-Ok. Walked into a convenience store, plunked my six on the counter, and was told I was about 1 and a half minutes too late. :smack: Enterprising young lass that I was, I went to a bowling alley across the street and ordered two beers. Took them to the ladies room, poured them into a water bottle I had with me, and smuggled them out in my purse. (yeah, yeah…I’m goin’ to hell). So now I live in CO where you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a liquor store. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/37 "2005-04-24T02:48:07Z")
The county I live in is dry. You can buy all the alcohol you want in the largest town, but believe it or not, you can’t buy your beer cold from a store. You can buy all the cold beer you want from a bar, but if you buy it in a convenience store it’s hot. Also, at one time, sales of beer were forbidden entirely, but you could buy hard liquor or wine if you wanted. You can’t buy any alcohol on Sunday. The only place you can buy liquor or wine is in a “package” store. In this state, the only place the liquor stores can buy liquor from is from the state. That’s right, the state has a monopoly on liquor wholesaleing in this state. In a related note, I remember reading that in the thirties, when the whole state was “dry” by state law, the highest paid public official in the nation was the Mississippi state tax commissioner. The reason for it was that the state collected taxes off of illegal booze, and the tax commissioner was paid a percentage of those collected taxes. A friend of mine went through a sheriffs road block around here. He had a bucket in the back of his pickup with a couple of cans of beer in it. Instead of arresting him, the deputies made him pour the beer out on the side of the road. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/38 "2005-04-24T03:32:35Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > [Here’s a wet-dry map of Kentucky.](http://www.hultgren.org/library/misc/wet-dry.htm) (It’s from '97–I don’t know how much has changed. Probably not much.). I’m pretty sure Oldham county is at least split now. There’s been mucho growth that direction and I’m almost positive you can buy booze in LaGrange. Hardin County is now wet (or at least moist – E-Town and Radcliff are both wet). Is the OP’er moving to Berea? Is this thread actually all about whether or not alcohol is available within 10 miles of _Richmond_??? ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/39 "2005-04-24T03:37:42Z")
> [@mike1dog](#): > > The county I live in is dry. You can buy all the alcohol you want in the largest town, but believe it or not, you can’t buy your beer cold from a store. You can buy all the cold beer you want from a bar, but if you buy it in a convenience store it’s hot. Mississippi? Starkville? Every time my sister came to visit me while I was in MSU she’d complain and complain and complain about the warm gas station beer. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779/40 "2005-04-24T03:39:56Z")
> [@racinchikki](#): > > Mississippi? Starkville? Every time my sister came to visit me while I was in MSU she’d complain and complain and complain about the warm gas station beer. Yes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-counties-wait-what-century-is-this/300779.md?page=3)